Iowa State University President Richard Seagrave issued a statement Thursday trying to sort out the relationship between 4-H and the Boy Scouts of America. It’s been reported that the 4-H program, run by I-S-U’s Extension Department, has severed ties with the scouts over their decision to exclude gays from being scout leaders. I-S-U spokesman John McCarroll says that’s not accurate.Federal rules forbid organizations that accept federal funding from dealing with groups that exclude gays. McCarroll says 4-H leadership attempted to provide guidance in dealing with any possible problems and that was interpreted as a split between the two groups.McCarroll says they’ll not take a blanket approach to cutting out any interaction between the two groups. Both groups would look at any project and determine if there might be a problem. The 4-H program receives one-point-five million dollars in federal money each year from the I-S-U Extension Department.
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